Pence to North Korea: 'Era of strategic patience is over'

US Vice President Mike Pence warns that "the era of strategic patience is over" with North Korea, saying the US and its allies will deal with the reclusive state if China is unable, as tensions soar over the North's missile and nuclear weapons programs.
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Vice President Mike Pence arrives at Observation Post Ouellette in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), near the border village of Panmunjom, which has separated the two Koreas since the Korean War, South Korea, Monday, April 17, 2017.(Photo: Lee Jin-man, AP)

Vice President Pence warned North Korea on Monday that the "era of strategic patience is over" and that all options are on the table if North Korean President Kim Jong Un continues to threaten the region with his missile and nuclear testing programs.

Pence arrived in South Korea on Sunday, hours after North Korea's latest failed missile test. On Monday he visited the Demilitarized Zone that separates the Koreas and later spoke at a joint news conference with South Korea acting president Hwang Kyo-ahn. Pence pointed to recent U.S. military strikes in Syria and Afghanistan as proof of President Trump's international resolve.

"North Korea will do well not to test his resolve or the strength of the armed forces of the United States in this region," Pence said, adding that "North Korea answered our overtures (for denuclearization) with willful deception, broken promises and nuclear and missile tests."

Pence called the U.S. commitment to South Korea "ironclad."

Hwang described the security situation on the Korean peninsula as "dire" and called Pence's visit "timely and meaningful." Hwang also echoed the Trump administration position that China, as North Korea's biggest trade partner, must take a lead role in controlling the North Korean threat.

"If North Korea commits another provocation, we will swiftly implement intensive punitive measures based on our cooperation with China," Hwang said.

North Korea's deputy U.N. ambassador lashed out Monday, blaming "outrageous" U.S. behavior on the Korean Peninsula for a "dangerous situation in which thermonuclear war may break out at any moment."

“We never beg for peace, but we will take the toughest counteraction against the provocateurs in order to defend ourselves by powerful force of arms,” Kim said.

In Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said he warned Washington to refrain from taking unilateral military action, Russia's Tass news agency reported. Lavrov noted that "if the U.S. vice president meant that Washington could unilaterally use military force, then it is a risky road."

Lavrov said Russia considers the North Korea missile testing unacceptable, but not a signal for other nations to "violate international law in response and use military force."

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said Beijing wants to resume the multinational negotiations that ended in a stalemate in 2009. He also suggested that U.S. plans to deploy a missile-defense system in South Korea were damaging its relations with China.

Pence, however, reaffirmed that deployment of a missile-defense system designed to shoot down North Korean missiles will continue. Pence stressed the U.S.position that the system is a "defensive measure."

Pence visited a military base near the DMZ, walking within 100 yards of North Korean soldiers who took pictures of the vice president and his entourage. Pence's late father, Edward, fought in the Korean War more than 60 years ago.

"On the way here, we actually saw some of the terrain my father fought on alongside Korean forces to help earn your freedom," Pence said.

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Vice President Pence visits Observation Post Ouellette with his daughters near the truce village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on the border between North and South Korea on April 17, 2017. Pence arrived at the gateway to the Demilitarized Zone dividing the two Koreas, in a show of U.S. resolve a day after North Korea failed in its attempt to test another missile. Jung Yeon-Je, AFP/Getty Images

South Korean protesters shout slogans such as 'Stop Thaad!' and 'No War!' during a rally against a meeting of Vice President Pence and South Korean acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn (not pictured), near the prime minister's official residence in Seoul on April 17, 2017. Jeon Heon-Kyun, European Pressphoto Agency

Vice President Pence arrives with U.S. Gen. Vincent Brooks, second from right, commander of the United Nations Command, U.S. Forces Korea and Combined Forces Command, and South Korean Deputy Commander of the Combined Force Command Gen. Leem Ho-young, left, at the border village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on April 17, 2017. Lee Jin-man, AP

South Koreans stage a rally welcoming a visit of Vice President Pence as they wait for his arrival near the house of South Korea's acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn in Seoul on April 17, 2017. Ahn Young-joon, AP

Vice President Pence looks at the north side from Observation Post Ouellette in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on April 17, 2017, near the border village of Panmunjom, which has separated the two Koreas since the Korean War. Lee Jin-man, AP

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On Sunday, Pence discussed that day's missile test, saying the "provocation" was a reminder of the dangers posed by North Korea in the region. The medium-range missile "blew up almost immediately," the U.S. military said.

Trump has sent a battle group of ships and submarines to the area, led by the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson. The U.S. and South Korea also have been conducting their annual joint military exercises, a massive operation involving hundreds of thousands of troops. The exercises have drawn the wrath of Kim, likely inspiring his efforts at showing military might.

Trump, participating in the White House egg roll Monday, was asked if he had a message for North Korea.

"Gotta behave," Trump said.

The vice president, his wife and their two daughters departed Seoul Tuesday morning bound for Tokyo, the next stop on their 10-day Asian trip.